In the safe house within the cave.
Wei Shanshan carefully pulled up her pants, glancing around with a hint of embarrassment as she used her foot to cover the waste in the hole with some dirt.
With a sigh, she returned to the wooden house, gazing at her mother, who was lying on her side resting.
She felt much calmer than before.
“Mom, that protein bar was amazing. I ate one and I’m not hungry at all,” she said.
Qiu Yanxi turned her face, looking at Wei Shanshan with an odd expression.
Lying on the smelly quilt and looking up at her daughter like this made Wei Shanshan feel a bit strange.
“What’s wrong?” Wei Shanshan whispered.
“Shanshan, tell me the truth. Did you sleep with that man named Yu?” A flicker of pain crossed Qiu Yanxi’s eyes, but she tried to keep her tone calm.
“Don’t be afraid. If you did sleep with him, it’s really not a big deal. In times like this, your father and I might have protected you too well in the past. Just don’t take it too to heart.”
She recalled witnessing something before.
During the escape in the academy, they encountered a wealthy family.
The daughter, once treated like a young lady, exchanged her body for food for her father, only to be beaten and humiliated.
In the end, she cried and jumped from a height, dying on the spot.
She didn’t want her daughter to end up that way.
As long as a person was alive, there would always be hope.
“No,” Wei Shanshan’s face turned red as she looked down. “It’s just that he didn’t look at me, but once he heard my father’s position…”
She thought her mother would feel relieved after this.
However, unexpectedly, Qiu Yanxi's expression grew more serious.
“At a time like this, when there are no restraints, he can keep his true nature in check and not indulge in his desires. This man, Mr. Yu, seems to be very disciplined, even frightening.”
“Mom, why worry? Isn’t that better? The stronger Mr. Yu is, the safer we are,” Wei Shanshan didn’t understand.
“If your father’s rewards can satisfy him, that would be fine, but if he finds them unsatisfactory, we will have no value to him at all.” Qiu Yanxi shook her head. “In that case, if he truly has thoughts about you, I’d feel more at ease.”
“Mom, what are you talking about!?” Wei Shanshan was confused.
“Let’s not discuss that. I want to ask you if you saw the glowing grass in the yard last night? It could act like sunlight, keeping the blood tide away. Plus, we’ve been here for quite some time, and have you heard any trickery from the eerie shadows? Didn't they not make a sound at all? Right?” After taking her medicine, Qiu Yanxi felt much stronger and her thoughts became clear.
“Do you know what this means?” She looked at her daughter with a peculiar expression.
“Um… If Dad could get some samples of that grass, maybe he could research something,” Wei Shanshan nodded, understanding its value.
“This Mr. Yu is not ordinary. Surviving in such a wild environment and living without worries, ensuring his own safety means he must have hidden secrets. The reason the glowing grass keeps the blood tide away should be his reliance,” Qiu Yanxi said in a low voice.
“But what does that have to do with us?” Wei Shanshan asked, puzzled. “Don’t we just need to wait for the rescue team?”
“Silly girl, do you really think that once we reach your father, we will be completely safe?” Qiu Yanxi smiled bitterly, rubbing her daughter’s small face. “Your father is merely the deputy director of a city research institute, one of three deputy directors, with far less authority than the director or even someone of higher rank. But if we can get the secret from Mr. Yu on how to avoid the blood tide to give to your father for extended research…”
“We can continue trading with Mr. Yu to see if he’s willing to make an exchange.” Upon hearing this, Wei Shanshan’s expression brightened.
“What do we have that he wants? Your dad, as a deputy director, really has no resources or authority. The information he previously obtained was all he could manage to provide support remotely,” Qiu Yanxi shook her head.
“So what should we do?” Wei Shanshan felt troubled.
She had just glimpsed a hope, yet suddenly felt lost on how to obtain it, which made her quite uneasy.
“Let’s observe for now. No need to rush. I’ll think of a way,” a glimmer of sharpness flashed in Qiu Yanxi’s eyes.
“First, let’s try to inquire about his intentions. If that doesn’t work, then we can consider other methods.”
Creak, creak.
Outside, the sound of footsteps crunching on dry leaves broke the silence.
The steps were heavy and firm, clearly showing Yu Hong’s style of movement.
With a creak, the wooden door of the courtyard opened, and Yu Hong, carrying a stick, walked in.
As he passed the wooden house, he glanced at the wooden door and noticed the mother and daughter pair still inside.
He felt reassured and walked to the cave entrance, ready to open the door.
“Mr. Yu, please wait. I have something to discuss with you,” Qiu Yanxi’s voice came from behind.
Her tone was sincere.
As the wooden door opened, she leaned against her daughter for support, standing at the entrance and looking towards him.
Yu Hong turned his head back, giving the woman another look.
This woman in her thirties, nearing forty, was well preserved and, after tidying up, seemed like she was in her late twenties.
Standing beside her daughter, they resembled a pair of sisters.
Especially since her figure was much more alluring than Wei Shanshan’s, her curves clearly visible even underneath her sportswear.
“Is there something you need?” Yu Hong withdrew his gaze, replying calmly.
“Well, I wanted to ask how your courtyard manages to avoid the blood tide's creatures? Is this method something we could trade for?” Qiu Yanxi spoke earnestly. “The situation outside is growing more severe, and the production of sunlight materials is extremely low. If we could have an alternative method, it could potentially save many lives. Your kindness in this matter might change countless lives.”
“What will you use to exchange with me?” Yu Hong asked directly. “I can share this method, but what’s the compensation?”
The glowstone grass could indeed be shared to help curb the worsening situation outside.
However, he personally felt it was not very useful since the grass was too easily damaged.
Without inner energy to promote its growth, it could be extinguished in just a few tries.
The last time an evil shadow came, it completely destroyed ninety percent of it, leaving only a few seedlings that took a long time to recover.
In other words, there was a limit to this.
Once that limit is broken, it could not recover and would be instantly destroyed.
It had significant flaws.
“We can compensate with supplies. When the rescue team arrives, we will be able to pay. Moreover, you could come with us to Hope City. Once in the city, we can arrange a good job for you,” Qiu Yanxi said sincerely.
“Supplies?” Yu Hong did not commit. “Let’s talk later. Right now, the issue isn’t the lack of sunlight materials but the black disaster that cannot be completely eradicated. It scatters but quickly recovers. In such a situation, no matter how many alternatives you have for sunlight materials, they won’t be of much use.”
“Mr. Yu should have a chat with my husband. He is also involved in research and will have plenty in common; joining the research institute would offer him much better treatment than just starving out here in the wilderness,” Qiu Yanxi persuaded.
“Let’s wait until the rescue team arrives. Right now, you can’t promise anything,” Yu Hong interrupted her without courtesy, turning to go inside.
Qiu Yanxi helplessly watched as the heavy wooden door closed and patted her daughter’s arm.
“This man is definitely someone powerful. His outfit looks like the gray lizard outfit available on the market, but it seems thicker and more high-end. Plus, he has access to special anti-inflammatory medicine, and the protein bars, if they can protect us all the way back, would ensure our safety.”
“Then, Mom, what should we do next?” Wei Shanshan asked, still confused.
“No need to rush, there’s still time. Let’s think about it,” Qiu Yanxi shook her head.
Bang.
The wooden door locked.
Yu Hong quickly took off his outfit, breathing in the fresh air.
Then, he sat on the wooden stool and took out the new talisman patterns he had just recorded.
The vortex talisman pattern was only the size of an egg, but he certainly didn’t have the ability to copy it that small.
The copied talisman pattern was a size of a grapefruit.
He moved the items on the wooden table aside, laid the copied paper flat on the surface, and then used charcoal to make a second copy.
After finishing and checking the communicator that was still enhancing, he decided to take a nap to replenish his energy.
When he woke up, the outside had already dimmed, and the enhancement of the communicator had finished.
Yu Hong sat up, holding the second copy of the talisman pattern, stretched out his hand, and pressed down, silently reciting.
“Enhancement talisman array, direction: dispel eerie shadows.”
He casually set a direction and watched as black ink flowed out black lines, merging into the talisman pattern.
“Insufficient completeness.”
As expected.
A smile appeared on Yu Hong's face.
This was his goal.
Using the black ink to indirectly determine what this talisman pattern was meant for.
“The basic condition for enhancing the black ink is to meet the most fundamental components. If you randomly take a rock, trying to enhance it into a great shiny stone is simply impossible because an ordinary stone has no function to dispel eerie shadows.”
“The effect of the black ink is enhancement, evolution, upgrade, and synthesis. But it’s not about creating something from nothing without any foundation.”
Having used the black ink for so long, Yu Hong had developed a deep understanding of it.
“That is to say, as long as I keep trying the enhancement function, being refused means it’s not that function immediately change it until the black ink acknowledges that it can be enhanced.”
“The last functional enhancement will definitely be the true purpose of this vortex talisman pattern!”
Looking at the unfamiliar talisman pattern before him, he continued to silently recite for enhancement.
“Enhancement talisman pattern, direction: positioning, perception.”
Black lines flowed out.
“Insufficient completeness.”
“Enhancement talisman pattern, direction: attack, damage.”
“Insufficient completeness.”
Attempt after attempt, feedback after feedback, but all returned with insufficient completeness.
Yu Hong patiently continued trying.
Time flowed slowly, and gradually, he had nearly tried all conceivable directions.
Yet, the result was still insufficient completeness.
This made his brows gradually furrow.
“Could it be that this talisman pattern is really useless?” he wondered.
“No worries, there’s still one more way.”
Apart from enhancement, the black ink also possessed a synthesis function.
Yu Hong picked up a piece of white paper and placed it on a regular glowstone engraved with a talisman, then pressed his hand down, silently reciting.
By directly synthesizing this talisman pattern with another item and comparing the differences before and after, he could also determine the general effect of this talisman pattern.
However, this process was slower and might not even be complete.
(End of Chapter)